It’s great to see their excitement. When it’s time to garden, the kids line up, water bottles in hand, anxious to head for the garden. Once the door opens they dash out, run cross field and straight to the garden! I tell myself their exuberance has nothing to do with escaping the monotony of being in one room all day long, cooped up as the teacher pours information into their absorbent minds. No. This an excitement solely geared toward the adventure of gardening.

That’s what I tell myself. Besides, it is exciting.

First stop — a quick review through garden etiquette. No stomping across beds, no throwing worm castings or top soil on the walkways (black gold!), no putting unidentified things into your mouth, no digging without gloves, no rough handling of the sprouts… Now that we have that settled, we’ll amend the sandy soil. In additon to putting in seeds, we’ll be transplanting ; a delicate process indeed. (Don’t mind those brown weeds you see – we’re not after perfection but production – and those dead old things pose no risk.)

Our tomatoes and peppers have had a great start but now it’s time to introduce them to their new home. And don’t forget the basil!

Fifth grade students handled the task with grace and aplomb. (These kids really are amazing.) Settling in the tomatoes and peppers, they moved on to the onions and carrots, astonished by the size of the tiny carrot seeds.

With incredible focus, they learned to “pinch and roll” the multitude of seeds into the channels drawn across the top of the bed, gently covering them with a fine veil of black dirt, not to mention of healthy shake of worm poop! Er–I mean, worm castings. We do want to keep this scientific, and all.

Finished with the task at hand they were ready for their next assignment. It was then I had to break the news. “Sorry kids, but it’s time to head back to class.”

Met with the expected frowns and protest, I assured them we would meet again next week for another exciting chapter of gardening!

Cheers abounded as they cleaned up their work area and trotted back to class. Turning back, I collected my things and thought, not bad for their first attempt at transplanting. And to think we only lost one tomato. It was during the process of “staking” the plant to its bamboo support when one boy pulled it out and asked, “Is this okay?”

I nearly fainted from shock. “Agh! No–you killed it!” (You have to understand, I raised these babies from seeds! It’s devastating when you lose one.)

He looked at me and I looked at him. I nodded. “You’ll have to give that one a nice burial, perhaps in the compost pile.” Then I assured him, “Don’t worry. It happens. And look.” I pointed to the tender sproutlings left behind. “At least you had the trio! We’ll just stake those two and we’re good to go!”

Then the Brownie Girl Scouts whipped in for an afternoon of gardening and boy o boy — talk about energy and enthusiasm — these girls were all over the business of planting pole beans and got right to it!

From dishing out dirt, tossing in seeds, patting in fertilizer, it was all I could do to keep up with their frantic pace. I can’t be sure, but we may have pole beans growing all over the garden at the rate these spirited gardeners worked!

But I never met a bean I didn’t like, so we’ll welcome them anywhere they show up. Next up: corn. And lower elementary. Talk about energy in the garden–you can’t beat this!

Working in shifts, these kids were meticulous in their corn planting duties, surprised you could plant the kernel from a corn cob and it would turn into a whole plant. Didn’t even phase them that our kernels were red.

“Ever seen red corn before?”

Hands shot up. “I have! I have!”

With a hand to my hip, I raised a brow. “Really now…”

When I said they were telling me “stories” they assured me that was not the case. They’ve seen it. For sure. (There is such a thing, but it’s fun to test their determination which I must admit, remained adamant.)

Our kernels are red, because they were chemically treated to keep them viable and strong for planting and sprouting. While we’re growing organic, it can be hard to find untreated non-hybrid seed, so this will prove our exception.

Digging diligently, they added dirt and raked it smooth, careful to keep to the rows and not the beds. We spaced out the holes, staggered our pattern and discussed the reason why. (Corn grows real tall and needs a little elbow room!)

We even tossed out the worm poop to give them a good and healthy start. Plants LOVE worm poop and kids LOVE tossing it. And they refuse to call it “castings.” It’s poop. Plain and simple. You gotta love kids!

Another great day in the garden was had by all, not to mention great progress was made. We’ll invite the little ones (primary/kindergarten) later next week to try their hand at bean plopping and poop tossing (something tells me they will LOVE LOVE LOVE it!)

3 Comments

JenniferSep 27, 2010 @ 09:33:16

Love it! And, of course it’s poop! I have been wanting to check out your blog and finally got a good moment. What you wrote about the corn reminded me of that documentary “Food Inc.” I felt so sorry for the man in that movie who was sued by monsanto and lost his business helping farmers to save their corn seeds. Plus, with all the cross pollination, it’s hard to tell what we’re getting anymore. Kind of strange and science fiction-y.

Well, good job with the kids. It’s inspiring, and I hope I can do better with my veggies this year too. We built a moveable raised bed last year, and I must find a better spot for it, one that has more sunlight. One of our customers (actually his father) recommended an almanac and planting by the moon. Maybe I will try that! Time on the plants is time well spent. Thanks for the reminder. I just have to do it now! Take care, Jen

I have worlds of knowledge to acquire myself before I could help others grow vegetables. However, I can definitely use my “expertise” to help them grow ornamentals and to improve their landscape design! A butterfly garden, perhaps? 🙂 I definitely want to learn more about the edible, garden variety though. Perhaps I can come observe one day and learn along with your children? I’m also sending the link to the blog I started when I got serious about studying the Spanish. I sometimes even remember to update it when I learn something new!